Man proposes to his girlfriend and then falls from bridge

Okinawa's famed Irabu Bridge, which opened in 2015 and is the longest toll-free bridge in Japan. PHOTO: SCREENGRAB FROM YOUTUBE

A Japanese couple’s joyous moment turned tragic after a 32-year-old man – moments after proposing to his girlfriend – fell off a bridge early Monday (Sept 4).

The incident reportedly occurred on the central part of the 3.5km-long Irabu Bridge, which links the Miyako and Irabu islands in Okinawa prefecture, just after midnight.

The man had been in a car driven by his girlfriend, who had stopped on the side of the road.

After they got out of the vehicle, the man proposed to his girlfriend. Upon hearing a “yes”, he was so happy that he allegedly jumped over a 1.2m railing, but lost his grip and plunged 30m into the sea.

The authorities launched a search-and-rescue operation after receiving an emergency call from his girlfriend, and found his body in the sea about seven hours later.

He was taken to hospital and pronounced dead.

This is the first fatality at the famous bridge, which opened in 2015 and is the longest toll-free bridge in Japan.

In a similar incident in 2014, a 29-year-old Bulgarian woman died after falling off a cliff on the Spanish island of Ibiza, just moments after accepting her boyfriend’s marriage proposal.

She was believed to have lost her balance while jumping with excitement. – StraitsTimes

You can follow BangkokJack on Facebook & Twitter. Or join the free mailing list (top right)

Asia's Latest and Greatest News Media Group - All the interesting local, national and world events as soon as they happen.
To reach 750,000 world-wide readers a month for as little as $150 please ask for a rate card